What guns for beginner 11-12 year old.

[Cherokee Sam]

Does anyone have any recommendations for starter 11-12 year old for .22s. Would like to get pistols that can be be action worked. Its a small girl who wishes to shoot with her mom and her grandpa.

[Rock Hound]

Winchester 9422 rifle, Ruger Bearcat pistols. I don't think you would want or need an action job on either. Just learn the basics and don't worry about speed.

 

Edit: The Henry .22 lever guns and Marlin 39s are nice too. I just prefer the 9422.

[Zed]

I can't imagine anyone would ever recommend against a Bearcat (or two!) and a Henry lever rifle. My boy has these, and shoots pretty well with both. The Henry, even the youth model, is still a bit front-heavy for his 8 year old frame (and he's a tall 8)

I don't know how much the Bearcat can be worked, but I do know you can get lighter springs, and thanks for reminding me of that! I really need to, because the hammer is kind of a beast for kids out of the box.

[Zed]

And when it comes time for a shotgun, I really think a 12 gauge with Aguila minis is about perfect. It's lighter recoiling than most .410 loads I've tried, and inch for inch, with H&R, anyway, the barrel's lighter. I guess for the same reason a .45 SAA is lighter than a .357.

[Kirk James]

The Henry rifle is a good one. Henry makes it in a youth model. I watched Johnny Meadows work on one for the Eldorado give away and it was really slick by the time he finished. I would suggest the Ruger single-six. You can still find the same frame in 32s when she is ready. The light 12 guage is manageable with really light loads. Just make sure the stock is cut for her, and save the piece you cut off. Also put the best recoil pad on it you can find and it will help cushion the recoil. The stocki can be added later. The kids grow out of these guns fairly fast and it will not be to long before they are shooting yours. Have fun and enjoy.

[Cherokee Sam]

Thanks for the info guys. Great suggestions. Got a line of grand kids coming up.

[Griff]

I started my son at 8 with his mom's .38spl revolver and a Rossi in .38. The shotgun was a bit of a challenge, but, with stocks cut to the right length, a recoil compensator, and light loads in all... he did fine. Well enough that by the time he was 13 he was beatin' up on us adults! When he outgrew the stock, I got a replacement and gave the cut-down stock to another parent looking to start his progeny. IIRC, it went someplace in SC or GA. Been a few years.

 

Just like any of us, stock fit is a very important component of felt recoil. It all depends on the size of the child. We went several months to the local public range. Loading singly until he was very familar with the operation of each, and was confident of his sight picture and safety rules. Again, every kid will handle it differently, and progress differently. All I can say is that you need enough patience for both of you. They're likely very eager to shoot fast. But, you need to instill the basics first, to the point that they don't even need to think about it.

[Pit Bull Tex]

My grandson is small for his age.tried the 22 in pistols but he shot 38s better. I got some P jrs in 38 done by Cody Conager.He shoot a henry 22 youth lever gun with the stock cut off.He shoots a single trigger S X S 410ga done by Johnny Meadows and shoots 444 brass loads from the 410.The 38 P jrs are lighter than the 22s

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

Hi Sam,

 

Bravo for getting a youngin into the game. At that age, I was almost the same size I was as a young adult. I think small frame .32s or .38s would serve the child longer and recoil can be reduced to a minimal amount.

 

Regards,

 

Allie Mo

[Buck D. Law, SASS #62183]

Since you have a "line of grandkids" coming along, you might actually get some use out of .22's. Most of the time though, the kids quickly decide they want to shoot "the big guns" and leave us wishing we had not wasted our money on the "little guns." When one of our daughters (Baby Doe Raymey) decided at nine she wanted to play cowboy, I took her to the range and let her try various pistols including .22's. Ultimately though she chose the .38 OMV's that I now shoot...because they're pretty (heavily engraved.)

 

In my opinion, the biggest challenge with a young shooter (or most new shooters for that matter) is overcoming the fear of the gun. That fear is primarily driven not by recoil (unless they've been told "boogey man stories" about recoil), but by the loud noise. My advice with a new/young shooter is to use ear plugs AND muffs until they learn that the recoil is no worse than a firm handshake. Of course I'm talking about appropriately loaded ammo with a power factor of 80 or less.

 

Dahlin' (the daughter who still shoots) started when she was a 72 lb. 12 year-old. She was also given gun choices. She chose .32 Single Sixes (because she liked the way they fit her hands), a Henry .22 rifle (because of they way it fit her-stock was cut) and an 1897 (because that's what Mama shoots.) It wasn't long before she changed her mind on the rifle, so now she shoots Mama's 1866 Trapper. She still shoots a 97, but after her first shoot (using my 97), I cut a 97 stock for her (10.5" LOP). She used it for a year or so and then decided she wanted to shoot her Mama's 97 (12.5" LOP). She has always shot a Featherlight equivalent 12 gauge. Oh yeah, in recent times (15 now) she's decided she prefers pistols in .38.

 

She was NEVER told "boogey man stories" about how guns will kick you and as you can see in this video of her first stage ever, she has no fear. Note that my 97 is too long for her. After witnessing her shoot a 12 gauge, a young man who had been shooting a .410 decided it was time to "move up."

[Captain Bill Burt]

My 7 year old shoots Bearcats (no action work), a Henry Youth Model and an H&R single shot 12 gauge. He's about 4'4" 60+ lbs and has no trouble, though I am getting the stocks cut down in a couple of weeks. The Henry has been short stroked (by Ruff Edge) more to give him better control rather than for speed. The last quarter inch or so of travel isn't accomplishing anything so RE put in a bolt to stop it short.

[Three Foot Johnson]

I started my daughter with a pair of Colt Frontier Scouts, a Henry youth, and a Stevens 311 .410. The next year, she moved up to Model P Jr. .38's, a 20g 311, and the slickest Rossi M92 .357 I've ever handled. She was the state champion Young Guns two years running, and still shoots the same guns in Cowgirl today.

[Badlands Bud #15821]

I can only speak from my own mistakes and experiences, but I started off with a Marlin 94 carbine, a brace of Ruger OMVs, and a Stoeger coach gun in 20 gauge. The rifle and pistols served me well for years but the shotgun was a big mistake (recoil was much more than a heavier 12 gauge with AA featherlights). I was much happier with a '97 with a cut stock. Shooting a double wasn't a handicap at that point (my hands were not large enough to hold 4 shells). The point is that a 20 gauge will not allow for the same variety of loads unless you are reloading and the weight of the 12 gauge frames is usually substantially greater. I stopped using the Marlin when I hit the "speed limit" but there are now mods that can be made to get around that. I have been looking into getting another Marlin, funds permitting.

 

If you're going to cut stocks, cut them in segments and invest in some extra length screws. You can replace the segments as the young'un grows.

 

I know a lot of buckaroos are starting out with .22s now, as the category allows them. I'm not so sure that this is advantageous. I was very happy getting my pistols for my 10th birthday and using them for more than a decade. To this day OMVs just feel right in my hand the way no other handgun can. What I mentioned for the Stoeger coach gun applies equally. The heavier frame with light loaded .38s should not present an issue as far as recoil or noise goes.

 

My $0.02

Bud